Author's Note: Well I got my first demoralizing flame last chapter which has sadly slowed my progress on this one. Most people indicated that they liked where this story was headed, but one person really, really didn't like it, and didn't sign their name so I could contact them for more information. However, an awesome thing happened today, in that Grace5231973 sent me a PM to address the flamer and got my spirits back up. Per her request, I've copied her message at the end of this chapter if you want to read it.
Regardless, I wanted to address a few things here in case anyone else is thinking the same things as my guest flamer:
-I do not hate Marion. I feel bad for her on the show, but for the purposes of this story, and through no fault of her own, the children feel like she has destroyed their lives. Roland harbors some personal hatred for Marion which hasn't been revealed yet. I admit, she's a plot device and not really a character in this story, but that's basically what she is in Once, so I don't feel bad for using her this way.
-The pacing of this story is supposed to mimic the show, with short, impactful scenes that don't always explain everything. That can make the pacing feel rushed—which I think the show does all the time. What's different is that I'm using the character perspective to fill in some history, where as the show would do a flashback.
-Rumple is the good guy of this story, but as Liam will soon explain, that doesn't make him a good guy, just the lesser of certain evils. The children, and especially Anna, see him a certain way because they've grown up with him as Anna's father, and were not privy to all of his past machinations. Liam will have a particular perspective on Rumple which is more in line with our regular Storybrooke characters, but Rumple saved Liam's life, and that's important as to why Liam tolerates him. But there is a reason why Liam had "cold eyes" when looking at Gold in the first chapter, and why he usually calls him "Dark One", so keep reading.
-Belle at her heart is the Belle we know and love, but thanks to the curse, so is Lacey. Lacey was a party girl, who had little care about others and was mostly in it for herself. I think those types of people are inherently weak, and would either ignore, or fall apart when confronted by what Belle has in this story. I am not writing the Belle we know and love, I'm writing a combination of Lacey and Belle, which I think would lead her to make bad decisions, which she's demonstrated by using the dagger against Rumple during the Mirror of Shattered Sight, to get Rumple to take her to the mirror. I think this evolving Belle may fall back into her Lacey mentality to get her through some tough situations the morally righteous Belle can't find a solution for, and that will easily lead her astray of the righteous path.
-Roland, Anna, and Liam are not in a love triangle, they are a family unit and have been together for a little under two years as the story begins. Roland and Liam have been together longer, four years, and pursued Anna to add her to their family unit. This caused a number of issues for a lot of people, both personally and politically, as will be revealed over the course of the story.
-Killian Jones is not the bad guy of this story. I like him, and think he's good with Emma both in this story and the show. He did a terrible thing, for reasons that will be explained, and Emma stayed with him, for reasons that will also become clearer. Parents make mistakes, that's a theme of Once and of this story, but that doesn't make them bad parents, it makes them human. Why Killian nearly killed Liam, and why Emma stayed with him, will reveal itself in this story.
-You are only getting one person's perspective at a time in this story, and just because it's their opinion on a matter, doesn't make it right.
-Lastly, this is a story about putting Rumplestiltskin and Belle back together not as the couple they were before, but stronger for having a better understanding of each other. I personally think that Rumple understands Belle, but Belle doesn't understand Rumple. She thinks he made "bad decisions" but because she hasn't had to make a lot of tough calls that went bad in her life, she can't really understand him. This story is my attempt to let Belle walk in her husband's shoes and gain some perspective that will allow her to live with his flaws and accept them. Because let's face it, Rumple isn't going to change, so Belle has too.
Very long winded, but I hope it clears up some things for people. If you have other questions, please let me know.
Roland was stopped at the bottom of the stairs, watching Liam take Anna by the shoulders outside Granny's Dinner. It didn't escape his attention that Rumplestiltskin was watching the two intently.
"Now, you understand there's going to be a lot of people in there, and they're all here to see you." Anna nodded, rolling her eyes as she did. Liam's overprotectiveness often prevented a disaster, but she seemed to be handling things well since this morning. "Good. And they're going to want to talk to you. Some of them, like Regina and Snow won't remember to help you stay focused."
She sighed, a sure sign she was more frustrated with Liam than the pending introduction. "I remember. You and Roland drilled it into me over breakfast. Can we just go in now so I can see Apple and Bae?"
With a look over her head that clearly showed Liam was expecting the worst, he nodded, releasing her shoulders. "Alright, but you know what to say if you get overwhelmed."
"Yeah, yeah," she said, turning around and walking towards him on the path up to Granny's, "I say, 'I need some air', I do remember things. Stop nagging me."
He smiled down at her, reaching out to take her hand as she got to the stairs. A cheeky Anna was exactly what they needed. He'd been so worried that her isolation would leave her unable to communicate well for a while, but she was quickly bouncing back to her normal routine.
"I'm nagging!" Liam groused behind them as Rumplestitlskin caught up with him.
Anna turned around as he opened the door, "Yep, but you only do it because you love me, so it's OK."
"I do love you," Liam said around a smile, and Roland glanced back as Anna walked under his arm, to see Liam couldn't have been more sincere.
He was surprised then, to see the diner was full, every seat taken even though it was 3pm on a Thursday afternoon. No doubt word had spread quickly about them in the small town, and everyone wanted a glimpse.
There was the royal family, tucked away in a booth with what had to be baby Neal. Emma, Killian and Henry were close by, and he reigned in his temper for Anna's benefit. His mom and father were at a table beside the dartboard, and he could see them staring openly at him. Apple and Bae were there of course, as was Hopper, Frankenstine, Grumpy, and—"
"Well I'll be damned. If it isn't Will Scarlett." He was beaming ear to ear as he approached the wide eyed man, his hand extended. "I'd forgotten that you were in Storybrooke this early in the game."
Looking a little skeptical, Will extended his hand, surprised when Roland took it, only to pull him in for an embrace. Will was a good man, one he was proud to know. But there in lay the rub, he knew Will, but Will didn't know him. The pain of that stung more than he cared to admit, but he weathered it as he did all things.
"Roland." He supplied the struggling man, who looked skeptical.
"Oy, if you're Roland," he thought for a moment, "then tell me the secret I told you to never tell your father."
He couldn't help it, he burst out laughing, unsurprised when Anna sidled up to him at his joy. He laughed, often, but not usually in public, and she and Liam were forever telling him he should do it more. Scooping her under his shoulder he bent down to kiss the top of her head before looking back at Will. "Well let's see, there was the time you told me not to tell him that you "borrowed" the bow that never misses. Or the time you pinched, and then lost, all the gold in the camp and told everyone you found it three days later by the river after winning it back from the gambling house. But if you're looking for what you told me the first time we met, you told me not to tell him that you'd taught me how to curse in Wonderland vernacular."
Will's eyes lit up, and he reached out to clasp his arm. "Well I'll be. You grow up to be a right handsome thing, now doncha. And this one's your's I take it?" He nodded down to Anna.
Nodding he answered, "Will, this is Morganna Lacey Gold, my fiancé."
"Well, well, look at that," Will bent at the waist and lifted Anna's hand to give it a kiss, "You did all right for yourself, Little Mate. I'm quite impressed. Nice to make your acquaintance, Miss."
Anna giggled, "We know each other very well, actually. It's nice to see you again."
"That right," Will said cheekily, "we know each other really well? How well is that?"
"The way you probably don't want her father to know about," Roland said dryly, hooking his thumb over his shoulder to indicate Gold.
Will paled, "Oh, well, I'm sure it was all on the up and up."
Anna laughed, "It was very up!"
Thankfully, Will was saved by Apple, who'd worked her way through the crowd to quietly approach them. It showed how well Apple knew her best friend that she did her best not to startle her. "Hi Anna, miss me?"
There were not enough happy moments in her life. That was Apple's conclusion when Anna turned to look at her and threw her arms around her neck crying, "Apple! I missed you so much!"
At 5'2 Anna was small by anyone's standards, but at Apple's size of 5'11 it was a stretch to lean down and hug her best friend. Maybe not as hard as it was on Roland who was 6'6, but still hard. She smiled up at her brother, who looked happy enough to burst. It was so rare to see Roland truly happy; an expression he wore most often for Anna and Liam, but occasionally for herself and their mom. A moment of sadness hit her that her father was excluded, but she didn't blame anyone for that, things happened in life that couldn't be undone.
"I missed you too!" Then she pulled back to glare down at her best friend, "I was so incredibly pissed at you for that stupid stunt you pulled! Running off to fight the Sorcerer all by yourself and leaving nothing but a vid message! Do you know how hard it was to generate enough electricity at Raven's Keep to even get that tablet to turn on, let alone watch the whole message? You are in big trouble you little brat!"
Anna looked between proud of herself and sorry for the frustration she'd caused her friends. If only she knew. Apple had sobbed uncontrollably for days after hearing Anna's message and realizing they were too late to save her. Her lovers had nearly broken under the weight of losing her. And Rumplestiltskin, he had.
But she wasn't going to dwell on it. Roland had told her over the phone that Anna had been trapped for over 30 years by their best guess, but was doing far better than expected. He even went so far as to say that besides a bit of memory difficulty, and some extreme emotional reactions, she was actually tracking well. And if she was teasing Will about their infamous one night stand, then Anna was a thousand times better than she'd expected of her best friend.
"But who cares about that right now!" Apple continued, "We have so much to talk about! There's still my wedding to plan, and I put everything on hold. I wasn't going to do anything until we could do it together." As she spoke, she pulled Anna over towards a table in the center of the room, appropriately cleared by Neal earlier. "We still have to grow the flowers ourselves, you said you wanted to work with Auntie Mel to do that, so that means we're still looking at Spring, which is good. And then there's the dress, thankfully all the gold thread has been spun by your dad, but we still have to track down a good seamstress to pull it all together."
Anna sat down with little grace, and dropped her chin into her upturned hand, "I think the last time I'd heard of her she was in Halloween Town. Sally is her name, I think."
She nodded, having forgotten, "That's right! We need to track her down right away because she has a lot of work to do on my dress, not to mention yours!" Reaching across the table, she covered Anna's other hand, "And then we have your wedding to plan next! Did you do any sketches while you were waiting for us to—"
She stopped mid-sentence, horrified by what she'd almost said, and the rest of the room seemed to wait with baited breath as well. But just like her, Anna was unphased.
Nodding, she lifted up her head so she could talk animatedly with her free hand. "Yes, I decided that my dress should be white with green and gold. Roland will wear Liam's colors of blue, and that way, my ring will have a center diamond with two blue sapphires on either side. Don't you think that will be pretty? And you'd look absolutely stunning in green—well you look beautiful in all the colors, but I like you in green—so I was thinking your dress could be green with gold thread. Papa will have to spin more for us, but I think that'll be alright." She turned back to face her father before she could see the Apple's fallen expression. A quick glance at her brother confirmed he hadn't told Anna about her father, and she chose to keep that secret from her friend until the time was right. "That's alright, isn't it Papa? You don't mind spinning some more so Apple's dress can have gold in it? I drew the prettiest pictures of exactly what I wanted," Anna turned back around and Apple schooled her features into a grin, "But I got really sad one day and burned them all." Sadness bloomed across her face for a moment, and then it transformed into an elated grin, "But that just means I get to draw new ones!"
She turned in her seat, her eyes scanning the room until she found Liam standing next to Henry who'd moved away from Emma and Killian, "Liam, before we go home, can we get my art supplies. I checked but there weren't any in my desk at home, and I need them to draw my dress. Oh and in case I have a vision. I hate getting headaches when my visions happen. And because I got bored after I put on my shoes and you were still whispering with Roland about me in the hallway—you know I can hear you in the hallway right? But I wouldn't be listening if I had my paints, so let's get paints too."
"I have some drawing stuff you could have, Aunt Anna," Henry offered, and the room watched his first interactions with his only aunt. "I think I have some colored pencils and some paints at Emma's."
Anna smiled brightly, "That's so nice of you! I bet you have the best colors. You look like you'd have the very best colors!" She stood from her place at the table, and Regina watched as Anna approached her son. When the young woman stood before him, even height, she reached out her hand, "I'm Anna, Morganna Lacey Gold, Roland's fiancé, and a lot of other titles that are too boring to mention. What's your name?"
Sadness flickered over Henry's face, and Regina noticed that Liam saw it when he placed a hand on his brother's shoulder. It was Liam that spoke, "Sweetheart, remember, this is the past."
"Oh I remember," Anna said, waving a hand dismissively in a gesture so much like her father, "But I still don't know who this is." She leaned forward, "And he's so handsome and rescued me from having to go track down paint, that I think I should like to know his name." She giggled, "Maybe I'll even spin a little for you, would you like that?"
Henry looked up at Liam questioningly, but this time spoke for himself. "I think so. I mean, you spin a person's fate right? So you could spin something really great to happen to me."
Anna clapped her hands and spun in a circle, "That's exactly right! Oh you are a smart one. Handsome and smart! You remind me of Henry. He's my nephew. My brother Bae's son. My brother died before I met him, but Henry is the best nephew I could ever ask for! He's smart, and handsome, just like you, and brave, and caring, and every time he visits me, he always brings me a box of caramels because he knows how much I love them, and we always sit together in the gardens and eat half the box with Liam, and then Roland eats the other half when he gets home." She giggled again. "He eats everything! He's always hungry because he's the Captain of the Guard at Raven Keep, and has to yell a lot and that makes him hungry. I have to cook all day just so he has enough to eat when he gets home," she laughed and turned to face Roland who was smiling contently against the counter, "Isn't that right?"
Her son nodded, and Regina felt her heart clench with joy at the thought of this powerful, loving man, being her son. "Sometimes all day. I'm the luckiest man in all ten realms."
Anna spun back towards Henry, "He is too, Liam tells him that all the time, and I believe Liam." She put a finger to her cheek, "But now you know everything and I still don't know your name. That won't do."
Ever the gentleman, Henry extended his hand, "It's nice to meet you, Aunt Anna, I'm Henry Mills, your nephew."
A shadow fell over Anna's face and she took a step back from a confused Henry. "N-No, y-your not Henry." She shook her head as Liam took a step towards her, but she backed away, her hands suddenly up before her, "No. Henry is older, and he has a beard—"
"Anna, it's alright," Liam tried, but Anna continued to back away.
"No! Tell him, Liam," she pointed accusingly at Henry. "Tell him he's a liar! Henry has a beard like your dad, and it's scratchy every time he kisses my cheek! He's a liar!" She looked around Liam to hurl at Henry, "You're a liar!"
Roland was away from the counter, and Liam had managed to take Anna's trembling hand, but it was Neal that caught her attention. "No, no, Little Sister," he addressed Anna, "Remember, this is the past, just like Liam said, and Henry's younger here. It's alright, he's younger here, that's all. This is Henry, that's why he's calling you Aunt Anna."
The calm way Neal spoke to Anna, spoke volumes about his patience as well as his caring for the young woman he called 'Little Sister', and Regina remembered then, that Anna had called him, 'Bae' last night, and not 'Neal'.
Anna turned to look at Neal, confused now as the hand not held by Liam was playing with her knee length dark red hair. "He's Henry," she asked, "My Henry?"
Neal nodded, smiling now. "Yep. And this time, when he kisses you, no whisker burns on your cheek."
Anna looked up quizzically at her lover who nodded, and Regina noted that Roland had stopped half way across the room, merely watching the scene unfold, giving Anna space to work through it.
"So," she looked over at Henry, "So your my brother's son, only younger?"
Henry nodded, unsure, "Yeah, I'm Neal's son, Henry."
Thoroughly confused now, Anna looked up at Neal, "You have a son?"
Apple burst out laughing and rose from her chair, attracting the attention of everyone in the room. "He damn well better not or the wedding's off!" Marching past her brother, she shooed Liam out of the way, and put a guiding hand on Anna's back and led her forward until she was standing before Henry. "Anna, this is my brother Henry. Henry, my best friend, Anna Gold. Oh yeah, and he's your nephew."
Anna's face contorted from dark confusion to pure joy as she was finally able to identify the person before her. "HENRY!" She cried happily, throwing her arms around him and spinning him in twirling hug. "Henry! Henry! Henry! I didn't recognize you! You're so small!" She laughed, looking over her shoulder, "Liam, it's Henry!"
The young man laughed, a happy sound, "It sure is! Where the hell did he come from?"
Neal scoffed and suddenly grabbed Liam in a headlock before ruffling his perfect hair, "You're an idiot!"
They wrestled for a moment as Apple skittered out of the way and Anna continued to hug Henry and talk at him a mile a minute. A few seconds later, Liam broke out of the hold and shoved his uncle good naturedly, "Who are you calling an idiot? You didn't get any farther than I did!"
"You're both idiots!" Her daughter said, walking up to Liam and smacking him up the back side of his head before walking over to Neal, who's shoulder she bit playfully before he tucked her under it, "Of course you're going to confuse her with your twenty-seven names." She turned to Roland who was watching them and smiling, "Stop hitting Neal in the head so hard during practice, you're killing too many brain cells."
For his part, Liam dropped his head and shoulders and shuffled towards Roland, sniffling, "She hit me. Your little sister hit me." Roland's smile exploded, and he gathered his lover in his arms kissed the top of his head, his hand massaging the spot Apple had struck. Throwing his arm backwards, Liam pointed in Apple's general direction, "I demand retribution."
Neal sighed, "You mean, 'restitution'."
"Yeah," Liam said, his voice muffled by Roland's sweater, "That. Get me that."
Roland laughed, a sound that transformed him from stoic to jovial in an instant, "I'm not doing anything if you can't even pronounce it right."
"Fine," Liam pouted, and broke away from Roland until he'd shuffled his way to stand in front of Regina. The fact he'd singled her out, shocked her, as did his arm suddenly around her shoulders, as he pointed at Roland, "He's being mean to me, mom, turn him into something I can throw in my pocket."
Anna burst out laughing, drawing every eye in the room, "Is that a Roland in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?"
Apple then cracked up as well, "You moron, it's 'roll of quarters' not 'Roland'."
"I like mine better!" Anna cried, wrapping both of her arms around Henry's shoulders from the side, and resting her head on his shoulder.
Apple rolled her eyes as Liam chuckled and gave her a squeeze, "How is it, you miss half the things around you, but catch every sexual innuendo in every room you're in?"
Anna shrugged, "I like sex. Maybe because Roland's so good at it. And Liam always says stuff like that, so I have to be quick or I'll miss it!"
"Ugh," Apple cried, covering her ears, as the rest of the room stood shocked at Anna's frankness, "I don't need to hear about my brother's bedroom prowess."
"Oh come on!" Liam said, giving Regina a final squeeze and a wink before walking over to tease his friend, "I could catalogue them for you if you'd like."
"Don't you dare, Liam David Jones! Do it and I'll tell Henry all about how his prized horse got out of the stables and into the tower! You wouldn't want that, now would you!"
Liam shrugged before his expression turned predatory, "Henry won't have a prized horse for another ten years, but you'll have to live with the imagery for the rest of your life, Danny Apple."
"Ooo! Stop calling me that, Dandy Boy!"
Anna giggled as the two of them began to verbally spar, though a few specks of magic danced in the air between them. "They're like that all the time. Papa says, if they weren't your brother and sister, they'd have killed each other a long time ago. But don't worry, Henry. Liam and Apple and I are bestest, best friends. They won't hurt each other for real. Come on! Let's get a milkshake and an iced tea. Iced teas are my mother's favorite. I hate them, but I drink them anyway because she always nods when I order one, and I like it when she's nice to me."
The room went quiet again, and Liam and Apple stood together with pained expressions on their face as Anna led Henry by the hand to the counter to order. "Granny," she addressed the widow, "may I please order a snack for Henry and I?" At Granny's nod, she continued, "I would like a strawberry milkshake for myself, and Henry wants a vanilla one with chocolate syrup and cherries. And may I please have an iced tea, but only if my mother arrives, otherwise, I just want the milkshake, please. Is that OK, Granny? Usually you know about the iced tea, but Liam said I have to remind people of my routine."
Granny nodded, a soft, pained smile in her eyes, "No problem, you two just take a seat and I'll bring 'em out."
"Thank you, Granny!" Anna then took Henry's hand and drug him back across the silent room to the booth his grandparents were sitting in with baby Neal.
"Can we sit with you, your majesties?"
"Oh! Of course you can, Anna!" Snow smiled nervously, sliding in closer to the window and Neal, who was in his carrier on the table.
"He's so cute! Isn't he cute, Henry? You're Uncle Neal was so adorable. Now he's handsome, because men don't like to be called adorable—trust me—but at this age, I just think he's darling." She looked up at Snow hopefully, "Can I hold him?"
Neal walked over to ease his mother's immediate look of concern. "'Course you can." Then to his worried mother, "She's great with kids."
Anna nodded happily, "I am! I love children. When Roland, Liam and I go into the village, all the children want to play with us." She held out her arms expectantly, and though she looked trapped, Snow obliged her son, and reached into the carrier to lift Neal into Anna's waiting arms.
Immediately, the baby began to coo, as did Anna, "Oh, you're so adorable! Look how handsome you are. You're such a good little boy, aren't you? Yes, such a good little thing." She looked over at Snow, smiling, the look easing the tension around Snow's green eyes. "He's absolutely wonderful!"
Turning her head, she looked at Liam who'd tucked himself back under Roland's arm while the two of them gazed adoringly at her, "We need to make cute babies like this Liam." Then she looked back at the boy in her arms, who's tiny baby hands were reaching for her, and she gave him her finger to hold onto. "Yes, just like you. Six little ones, just as wonderful and perfect as you are. They'll all be strong like Roland and warm and kind like Liam. And they'll be smart too. Much smarter than their mommy. They'll be smart like their Grandfather, but much nicer, because Papa can sometimes be mean if he doesn't love someone, but all of my little ones will love everyone!" She continued on, cooing at the babe until he was giggling and gurgling in such joy that Henry leaned over the table to watch and even Snow was impressed.
David chuckled, "You're great with him, Anna."
She laughed, "I know!" Then looked up at David and smiled, "He's so cute! What's his name?"
David's face fell immediately, but Regina noticed that those that knew Anna best, were unphased by her question.
"His name's Neal, Sweetheart," Roland supplied, preventing Liam from walking over to her, "Remember?"
"Oh! Yes, I remember, I just forgot for a moment. He's lovely, absolutely lovely."
From behind her, Robin scoffed loudly, and she turned in his direction. He'd been sullen and disturbed since his return, giving her only hints at what had happened during the five days he had traveled with their son and Liam. From what she'd learned, it had left Robin shaken to his core.
Though, she couldn't deny his next words, however much she wished he'd found a better way to say it to their caustic son. "This is the woman you chose to marry? She's a child herself and you're bedding her? What's wrong with you?"
His son released his lover and took a menacing step in his direction, his hand reaching for empty air where his sword should be. The action only fanned the flames burning in him, since he'd opened the bedroom door to find an arrow pointed at his heart and cold eyes staring back at him.
"You will mind your words around my family, father."
Father. That title stung bitterly as it rolled with contempt off Roland's tongue. "Then let's step outside, where my words won't reach them."
He watched as Roland dismissed him, "I'm not interested in what you have to say."
"Roland," Regina tried, and he watched his son turn his eyes on her with such adoration he felt like it broke something in him that could never be repaired.
"This doesn't concern you, Regina," he took a step around her, placing himself between them, "It's between my son and I."
"Dad, don't—"
"Leave it, Apple," Roland told her without looking at her pain filled face. To him, he took another step forward, "There is little between us but words, Father, but if you want me to silence even that, then I accept your invitation."
"No." Roland's head turned like a whipcrack at Anna's strong voice. She had handed the babe to Snow, and was standing next to the booth, her posture straight, and her features fierce. Gone were the traces of innocence, replaced instead by the strength of a woman. Her eyes moved from his to Roland's and held. "You are not fighting your father. I forbid it, Roland." There was power behind her words, and the presence of it startled him to hear.
The effect was immediate. Roland's hands fell to his sides, and his posture relaxed, "Easy, Sweetheart, I wasn't going to hurt him."
She turned her head away from him in disgust, "Yes you were. You would have gladly, and I have forbidden it. You are entitled to however you feel, but you will not break Apple's heart along the way."
His son flinched before he lifted his eyes to stare at Apple. He did as well, and his heart broke at the sight. Her large, expressive, blue eyes were flooded with tears, her hands folded under her breast as if in prayer. A single blink caused the tears to roll down her cheeks, and he felt as he always did to see his son cry, as if someone had sucker punched him, now somehow worse that the tears belonged to his daughter.
"Apple—" Roland tried, but she turned away from him and swiped angrily at her tears.
"Why don't you just run him through and be done with it! You won't be satisfied until that happens, so just do it! It's not like everything won't reset by the time we fix this mess, so just do it Roland! Kill him and be done with it!" Anna moved immediately to her friend's side, and he was surprised to see Liam issue Roland a holding glare before he too walked past to comfort their friend.
A glance at Neal, surprised him, the young man seemed firmly on Roland's side and offered a nod in comradery rather than moving to comfort his fiancé.
"No one's killing anyone, Luv, Roland is being a dramatic ass. Come on now, sit down before you fall down."
"No! Roland's wanted to do it for decades!" Tear stained, Apple muscled her way around Liam to glare deathly at her brother. "You think it'll make you feel better, that somehow that'll fix our screwed up childhoods, which were soooo terrible with a mother that adored us, then do it Roland, just do it!"
Roland's shoulders fell in defeat as he moved to his sister's side weathering glares from his lovers and a halfhearted attempt by Apple to push him away, before he managed to pull her into a tight hug. Broken, Apple said, "He tried to fix it, Roland, he does try, can't you just see that and give him some credit."
"Maybe," Roland conceded, "But it will never enough."
And he lost it, rage and horror flooded him, at the very idea he had turned into a terrible father. His boy was his life, he would have done anything for Roland, anything! The need to know where it had all gone wrong, drove him to bursting. "What?! What could I have possibly done to make my son hate me so, that my death is the only thing that will satisfy him?! What?"
Roland's cold and bitter eyes were filled with contempt as he locked their gaze, and the weight of his son's words struck him as none could, "You left. You abandoned us. And you made Regina cry. That was enough. It was more than enough to ensure that nothing you could ever do could undo it."
Author's Note: Per Grace5231973 request, here's her PM to me.
I noticed that you got a bad review from a cowardly poster who posted anonymously so they won't get reported. Obviously this person can't read or they would know that Hook and Emma eschewed the time line causing, like in Back to the Future 2, a nightmare of a timeline. They also don't seem to grasp that the sorcerer did this on purpose to destroy Rumple, Regina, Belle, Emma, the kids, etc! I know that Rumple screwed up but Belle messed up as well. She believes he doesn't love her based on a gauntlet and ignored the part where he said that a person's weakness is almost always their true love. I think what she did was rash and not exactly the best decision she could make even though at the time, it was the only decision she could make. I applaud you and other writers who understand this and want to bring this wonderful couple back together on equal footing with both acknowledging their mistakes and working together to make their marriage work! This troll is one of the worst sort of fans who tear down a writer instead of offering constructive criticism that would help you. Please ignore this person! He/She is a coward and not worth your time! Please continue this wonderful story. I keep checking my e-mail every night for an update as I am sure your other readers do as well! I think I can speak for your readers when I say we want to see where you take this! You have talent and I think it would be a shame to let one reviewer to ruin it for everybody! He/She does not speak for the Rumbelle fandom! I also wanted to let you know that LadyGisborne15 is writing a petition to get rid of trolls like this asshole! Please pm her and join this fight with us who just want to make it a safe and happy place to write and read fanfiction! I also would ask that you copy and paste this review into your next chapter because this jerk needs to know that their bullying is not tolerated! Again, I am sorry you had to read that! Please don't let this bully win!